Sam Graves: “The rail industry relies on grants from the federal government to help with safety, upkeep and growth in the industry.”

I helped create two programs, Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhood Access and Equity, to begin redressing some of these harms.

I urge the Committee to take long overdue action on rail safety so that passengers and communities with rail in their backyards have a level of safety oversight and protection afforded to other modes of transportation.

We are here today to discuss the discretionary grant programs at the Department of Transportation and to hear firsthand from stakeholders about their experiences with the Department's grant processes.

I missed a series of votes today. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 492.